Two Supermen and a Clark?

Initially excited about DC Comics’ planned REBIRTH event, I’m starting, as we inch closer to it happening, to get a little apprehensive. Details are being provided; the pieces are coming together; little by little the coloring is being applied to the tapestry, and I’m not at all certain I’m digging what I’m starting to see, if you can dig it. I’m still hopeful, but now I’m also skeptical. A return to the pre-New 52 DC Universe sounded so promising, then this morphed into more of a “let’s keep what’s working from the New 52 but go back to old school with the rest” sort of thing, which seemed even better, in my opinion. The best of both worlds. But can those two worlds really coexist?

How will DC get Superman back to his old, pre-New 52 self? A simple time jump? No, not according to the latest hints. They’re gonna kill the New 52 Superman and bring the old Superman back to replace him. Only they may split Clark Kent and Superman into two different people. This latter sounds, well, stupid, if I’m honest. But what if the Clark sans Superman being teased is really the New 52 Clark, stripped of his powers? That MIGHT be interesting, if handled right. Still, is it really that hard to give us a straight-up Superman story featuring the Superman we’re all familiar with, the one with all his powers intact, in love with Lois Lane, not Wonder Woman, and with his secret identity still a secret?